KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For more than 70 years, encouraging patriotism within our nation’s classrooms has been a principle of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., but time is running out for this year’s annual student scholarship award competitions and teacher recognition programs.

As one of the top student patriotic essay competitions in the nation, nearly 40,000 high school students compete for their chance to win a $30,000 college scholarship. This year’s participants are faced with the challenging theme, “Why My Vote Matters.”

With the chance to win a slice of more than $54,000 in Patriot’s Pen national awards, this year’s sixth through eighth-grade students must answer “Why I Honor the American Flag.”

Understanding that inspiring patriotism and encouraging civic responsibility often begins at the head of the class is a driving force behind the VFW’s Teacher of the Year awards. Each year the VFW recognizes the nation’s top elementary, junior high and high school teachers who work hard every day to inspire and nurture national pride in their students. Don’t miss your opportunity to nominate a teacher who is impacting the lives of our children daily.